Ko Lanta
Long, Laid Back Andaman Island; Mu Ko Lanta National Park Lies At Its Southern Tip · Ko Lanta, Krabi
Ko Lanta is a long, narrow island in the south of Krabi province, about 25 kilometres from north to south, known as the relaxed alternative to Ao Nang and Phi Phi. Strictly it is two islands: Ko Lanta Noi, close to the mainland, and the larger Ko Lanta Yai, where almost everyone stays. A single road runs down the west coast past a string of beaches, from Klong Dao and Long Beach near the main village of Saladan in the north to Klong Nin, Kantiang Bay and Bamboo Bay in the hilly, quieter south, where the headland of Mu Ko Lanta National Park ends in a lighthouse. The east coast faces the mainland across mangroves and mudflats, and Lanta Old Town there keeps timber shophouses on stilts built by Chinese traders, beside communities of Muslim fishermen and Urak Lawoi sea people. Boats run to the Trang islands and the swim-through Emerald Cave, to the reefs of Ko Rok and to the famous dive pinnacles of Hin Daeng. The island is family-friendly, has sunset bars rather than big clubs, and quietens right down in the wet season.
Saladan, Ko Lanta, Ko Lanta, Krabi, 81150, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the island itself never closes and the mainland car ferries run from early morning until early evening, roughly 6 or 7 am to 8 or 9 pm, with no service overnight. The national park gate at the southern tip is usually open from about 8 am to 5 or 6 pm daily, with no closing day, and the last sensible entry is about 4 pm to allow time for the lighthouse. Boat trips leave between about 8 and 9.30 am and return by about 4 or 5 pm. Many restaurants, bars and some resorts close altogether in the wet season, roughly May to October. The traps that ruin a day are missing the last car ferry of the evening, arriving at Emerald Cave at the wrong tide, finding the passenger boat from Krabi not running in low season, and having no cash in the south. Confirm current times before relying on them.